Christian Pulisic’s Heroics End AC Milan Losing Streak

USMNT captain Christian Pulisic scored twice to help AC Milan snap their three-game losing streak in Serie A against Lecce on Saturday.

After a promising start under new manager Sergio Conceicao, the Milan club saw a dip in form in the domestic league that coincided with their elimination in the UEFA Champions League to Dutch club Feyenoord. Defensive issues such as injuries to key defenders Alessandro Florenzi and Emerson Royal, and inconsistent performances from Fikayo Tomori and Strahinja Pavolic have left the Milan side vulnerable.

Desperate for a win to stay on track for their European qualification ambitions, they once again found themselves 2-0 down against Lecce last Saturday.

Enter Captain America.

AC Milan player Joao Felix scored to make it 2-1 in the 68th minute. A few minutes later, Christian Pulisic won a penalty after a poor challenge in the box from a Lecce defender, and slotted away the penalty to make it 2-2. In the 80th minute, Rafael Leao received the ball on the left wing and sent a cross to the far post that Pulisic latched onto and scored the winner 3-2.

After the game, Pulisic told DAZN: “It’s a very difficult moment for us, and this was a very important victory. We are a united group, and we demonstrated it with a very important win.”

Despite hitting a rough patch of form and not scoring for more than a month, the 26-year-old has now netted 14 times in the Serie A campaign this season, just one shy of his personal best of 15 from last season with months still left to play. It also brings his total goal contribution (goal and assists) to 20, the highest among any Milan player since his June 2023 arrival.

“He starts from the wing but feels very comfortable in the central corridor, which then depends on the game,” said manager Sergio Conceicao to DAZN.

“He started on the left, but he is a player with great technical qualities and is very intelligent. He can play behind the striker or on the wings, but cutting inside is the best position.”

Pulisic’s form is a lifeline for Milan, who are now languishing in ninth and have been knocked out of Europe.

AC Milan will play Como and Napoli in the Serie A this month before their Coppa Italia semi-final against rivals Inter Milan on April 2nd.